Real-time context based recipe recommendation system

ABSTRACT

Aspects include real-time context based recipe recommendations including receiving, at a mobile device, an identifier of an available food item that is offered for purchase at a food marketplace. A request for recipes that specifies the identifier of the available food item and a list of identifiers of food items previously selected by the shopper for purchase is sent to a recipe application. At least one recipe selected by the recipe application is received at the mobile device and presented to the shopper. The recipe includes the available food item and at least a subset of the food times previously selected by the shopper. The identifier of the available food item is added to the list of food items previously selected by the shopper for purchase based on determining that the shopper has selected the available food item for purchase.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates generally to a recipe recommendation system, andmore specifically, to a real-time context based recipe recommendationsystem.

One reason that shopping at a farmer's market is different than going toa grocery store is the changing variety of food item choices due, forexample, to seasonal and other local conditions. Oftentimes shoppers donot bring a set grocery list but instead show up and see what looks goodthat week. Shoppers may find a unique food that they would like to trybut aren't sure how to use or prepare the food. Thus, a shopper at afarmer's market runs the risk of buying a basket full of food and goinghome and still not having anything to make for meals because none of thepurchased items work together. Coming home from grocery shopping withnothing to make for dinner may occur more frequently when shopping at afarmer's market type of venue however it can also happen when shoppingin a standard grocery store when the store is out of a key ingredient,has seasonal specials, or has selected items at reduced prices.

SUMMARY

According to an embodiment a method, system, and computer programproduct for real-time context based recipe recommendation. A methodincludes receiving, at a mobile device of a shopper, an identifier of anavailable food item that is offered for purchase at a food marketplace.A request for recipes is sent by the mobile device to a recipeapplication, the request specifies the identifier of the available fooditem and a list of identifiers of food items previously selected by theshopper for purchase. At least one recipe selected by the recipeapplication is received at the mobile device, the at least one recipeincluding the available food item and at least a subset of the fooditems previously selected by the shopper for purchase. The shopper ispresented with the at least one recipe. It is determined whether theshopper has selected the available food item for purchase. Theidentifier of the available food item is added to the list ofidentifiers of food items previously selected by the shopper forpurchase based on determining that the shopper has selected theavailable food item for purchase.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniquesof the invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the invention aredescribed in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimedinvention. For a better understanding of the invention with theadvantages and the features, refer to the description and to thedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion ofthe specification. The forgoing and other features, and advantages ofthe invention are apparent from the following detailed description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a system for a real-time context basedrecipe recommendation system in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 2 depicts a process flow for real-time context based reciperecommendation in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 3 depicts a process flow for real-time context based shoppingrecommendation in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 4 depicts a process flow for real-time context based menu planningin accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of a computing device for implementingsome or all aspects of the system in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 6 depicts a cloud computing environment in accordance with anembodiment; and

FIG. 7 depicts abstract model layers in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments described herein are directed to providing real-time contextbased recipe recommendations. Embodiments can be used to providesuggestions on how to use new food ingredients by providing recipesuggestions that incorporate specified food ingredients in real-time(e.g., while the shopper is at a food marketplace such as a farmer'smarket or grocery store). Embodiments can also be used to help tooptimize compatibility between the food items that a shopper is planningon purchasing by providing recipe suggestions that incorporate multipleitems that the shopper has on hand (e.g., in the shopping cart, athome).

Existing radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology can beutilized by embodiments to track what is in a shopper's basket (i.e.,previously selected) and what is available from a food vendor that is infront of (or proximate) to the shopper. As the shopper walks by a giveningredient, or food item, a shopping application on the shopper's mobiledevice presents the shopper (e.g., via a display screen) with recipesthat include the given ingredient combined with other ingredientsalready in the shopper's basket. Recipe recommendations from theshopping application can also incorporate food items that the shopperhas bought in the past. Recipes can be displayed on a mobile device suchas, but not limited to: a Google Glass; a tablet; and a cellulartelephone.

In embodiments, food items can be tagged with RFID tags which storeidentifiers of the food items. A mobile device used by the shopper caninclude a RFID reader to read the food item identifiers on the RFIDtags. As the shopper moves around a food marketplace (e.g., a farmer'smarket or grocery store or other shopping venue), the items currently infront of the shopper can be compared to the food items that are alreadyin the shopper's basket (food items previously selected by the shopper),and recipes involving the target item and some combination of items fromthe shopper's basket are suggested to the shopper. If past shoppinghabits of the shopper are available, they can be incorporated into ascoring algorithm to push things that the shopper is more likely toenjoy to the top of a list of recipes.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a system for a real-timecontext based recipe recommendation system is generally shown inaccordance with an embodiment. The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includesavailable food items 120 that are for sale by a vendor and selected fooditems 108 that are in the shopper's basket (food items previouslyselected by the shopper). Both the available food items 120 and theselected food items 108 include RFID tags 110 that are read by a RFIDreader 122 located on a mobile device 102. In an embodiment, the RFIDtags 110 store identifiers of the corresponding food item that can beread by the RFID reader 122 as input to the shopping application 104. Inembodiments, the RFID tags 110 are passive in that they collect energyfrom the interrogating radio waves and act as passive transponders toreturn the food item identifiers to the RFID reader 122. The RFID reader122 sends an encoded radio signal to interrogate a RFID tag 110, whichresponds with a tag identifier. In embodiments, the tag identifier istranslated by the shopping application 104 into a food item identifier,in other embodiments, the RFID tags 110 return food item identifiersalong with tag identifiers to the RFID reader.

The shopping application 104 receives the food item identifiers for theavailable food items 120 and the previously selected food items 108. Inan embodiment, the shopping application 104 requests updates on contentsof the shopping cart, e.g., the previously selected food items 108 on aperiodic basis. The RFID reader 122 can distinguish between signalsreceived from the available food items 120 and already selected fooditems 108 in a variety of manners such as, but not limited to: scanningor otherwise directly recording selected items as they are placed in thecart rather than relying on the RFID as a proximity sensor. In otherembodiments, RFID technology is combined with movement sensors on thefood items and the algorithm can see the difference between items thatare moving in conjunction with the shopper and those that remain at aconsistent distance (e.g., a programmable threshold distance) from theshopper vs. other items that are changing their distance as the shoppermoves around.

The food item identifiers for the available food items 120 and theselected food items 108 can be transmitted, as shown in FIG. 1 via anetwork 112, by the shopping application 104 to a recipe application 116for recipe suggestions. In embodiments, information 106 such as items onhand in the shoppers home and preferences of the shopper are also sentto the recipe application 116. The recipe application 116 is shown inFIG. 1 as being implemented on a processor 114 and having access torecipe data 118 stored in a storage device. Any recipe application 116that can receive recipe ingredients as input and that can output asuggested recipe(s) based on the ingredients can be utilized byembodiments. For example, Supercook, Recipes By Ingredients from ABMobile Apps, and MyFridgeFood are examples of a few of the recipeapplications 116 that can be utilized by embodiments. In addition, arecipe application 116 that generates new recipes based on ingredients,such as that described in U.S. Patent Publication Number 2014/0188566,can also be utilized by embodiments. The recipe application 116 can belocated and executed on a processor 114 remote from the mobile device102 as shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, all or a portion of the recipeapplication 116 and its associated recipe data 118 can be located on themobile device 102. Similarly, the shopping application 104 can belocated and executed on the mobile device 102 as shown in FIG. 1.Alternatively, all or a portion of the shopping application 104 andassociated information 106 can be located on the processor 114 remotefrom the mobile device 102.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a process flow for real-time context based reciperecommendation is generally shown in accordance with an embodiment. Inan embodiment, the processing shown in FIG. 2 is performed by theshopping application 104 executing on the mobile device 102 shown inFIG. 1. In embodiments, the shopping application 104 is initiated, whichcauses the RFID reader 122 on the mobile device 102 to send radiosignals to interrogate RFID tags 110 which are proximate (withinreception range of the radio signals) to the mobile device 102. At block202, a shopper walks past a food item that is tagged with an RFID tag110. At block 204, the shopping application 104 receives the tagidentifier (and optionally other information) from the RFID reader 122and identifies the available food item(s) 120.

At block 206, the shopping application 104 sends the identifier of theavailable food item 120 along with identifiers of any selected fooditems 108 that are already in the shopper's basket (or cart, orotherwise in possession of the shopper) to the recipe application 116.In this manner, the shopping application 104 sends a list of ingredientsto the recipe application 116 and requests recipe suggestions. Inembodiments, the shopping application 104 sends additional informationto the recipe application 116 related to shopper preferences which canbe factored in by the recipe application 116 when selecting recipesand/or by the shopping application 104 when presenting recipes to theshopper. Preferences can relate to, but are not limited to: foods toavoid (e.g., due to allergies, dislikes, dietary restrictions); favoritefoods; preferred spice level; length of time to cook; length of time toprepare; and preferred cooking methods.

In embodiments, the shopper can receive, via a display on the mobiledevice 102, a list of available food items 120 and the shopper canselect one or more of the available food items 120 for inclusion in arecipe. In these embodiments, just the selected available food item (s)120 is sent to the recipe application 116. Similarly, the shopper canindicate a subset of the selected food items 108 in the shopper's basketfor inclusion in a recipe, with only the indicated subset sent to therecipe application 116 for recipe suggestions.

At block 208 of FIG. 2, the shopping application 104 receives one ormore suggested recipes back from the recipe application 116 that usesthe available food item(s) 120 and possibly one or more additionalingredients that the shopper has already selected for purchase. The oneor more suggested recipes are presented to the shopper for example, viaa display on the mobile device 102 or in an audible fashion via aspeaker on the mobile device 102. In embodiments, the suggested recipesare ranked based on what percentage of the previously selected fooditems 108 are used by the recipe. In embodiments, additional on handfood items, such as those at the shopper's home are also taken intoaccount by the ranking.

At block 210 of FIG. 2, it is determined whether the shopper has placedone of the available food items 120 in his or her basket. If theavailable food item 120 was placed in the shopper's basket, then block212 is performed to indicate that the available food item 120 is now aselected food item 108 (e.g., is on list of food items previouslyselected by the shopper). If the available food item 120 was not placedin the shopper's basket, then processing continues at block 202 wherethe shopper continues to walk past food items which are monitored by theshopping application 104.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a process flow for real-time context basedshopping recommendation is generally shown in accordance with anembodiment. In an embodiment, the processing shown in FIG. 3 isperformed by the shopping application 104 executing on the mobile device102 shown in FIG. 1 once the shopper is presented with a list of one ormore recipes that were received from the recipe application 116 (e.g.,at block 208 of FIG. 2). At block 302 of FIG. 3, the shopper selects arecipe from the list of recipes and at block 304 of FIG. 3, the shoppingapplication 104 checks to see what ingredients in the recipe that theshopper has on hand. In an embodiment, the ingredients that are on handare the food items that the shopper has in his or her shopping cart. Inother embodiments, the ingredients that are on hand also include thefood items that the shopper has at home (or other location). The fooditems at home can be determined by the shopping application 104 usingthe RFID reader and/or they can be entered manually by the shopper.

At block 306 of FIG. 3, the shopping application 104 presents theshopper with a list of at least one additional ingredient that is neededfor the selected recipe. In an embodiment, this list includes those fooditems that are not in the shopper's cart. In other embodiments, the listincludes those food items are not in the shopper's cart and not at theshopper's home. The list of at least one additional ingredient can bepresented to the shopper for example, via a display on the mobile device102 or in an audible fashion via a speaker on the mobile device 102. Inanother embodiment, instead of showing the exact ingredients from theselected recipe, the shopping application 104 can show categories ofingredients (e.g., root vegetables, leaf vegetables, red meat) andnotify the shoppers whenever they walk by one or more ingredients inthose categories. At block 308, the shopping application 104 continuesto update the list of additional ingredients required by monitoring thefood items that the shopper puts in his or her basket. It is determinedat block 310 whether the shopper has all of the ingredients for theselected recipe. Block 312 is performed and the recipe is marked ascomplete when it is determined at block 310 that the shopper has all ofthe ingredients for the selected recipe. Processing continues at block306 based on the shopping application 104 determining at block 310 thatthe shopper does not have all of the ingredients for the selected recipeat block 310. In embodiments, the processing shown in FIG. 3 isperformed simultaneously for two or more recipes that are selected bythe shopper.

Turning now to FIG. 4, a process flow for real-time context based menuplanning is generally shown in accordance with an embodiment. In anembodiment, the processing shown in FIG. 4 is performed by the shoppingapplication 104 executing on the mobile device 102 shown in FIG. 1. Inan embodiment, the processing shown in FIG. 4 supplements the processingshown in FIGS. 2 and 3. For example, block 402 can be performed prior tothe processing shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. At block 402, a shopperenters a menu plan that includes categories of meals into the shoppingapplication. In an embodiment, a shopper can enter the menu plan priorto shopping to generally define types of meals for particular days andtimes. Categories can be focused on types of food, such as hamburger fordinner on Monday, fish on Tuesday, meatless on Wednesday, and pasta onThursday. Categories can also be focused on types of meals, such as, butnot limited to: the amount of time that it takes to prepare, the amountof time that it takes to cook, the type of cooking (e.g., pan, oven,outdoor grill), the total number of different ingredients, and level ofcooking skill suggested. Categories can be combined, for example, arecipe for fish that takes less than an hour to prepare and that alsocan be prepared on an outdoor grill can be specified for a meal. Theshopping application 104 requests a recipe from the recipe application116 fitting as many categories as possible. Recipes can be ranked forpresentation to the shopper based on how many categories they match.

At block 404 of FIG. 4, the shopper is presented (e.g., via a display oraudio output on mobile device 102) with recipes in one of the categoriesthat is not completed. In embodiments, block 404 is performed as part ofblock 208 of FIG. 2. At block 404, the shopper is presented with recipesin one of the categories of meals that is not completed. For example, ifthe shopper requests a recipe that includes grilling fish on an outdoorgrill and a recipe is returned from the recipe application 116 that fitsthese categories, and selected by the shopper at block 406, then thismeal category is marked as complete at block 408. Thus, at block 208 inFIG. 2, the shopper is no longer presented with recipes that fall intothis meal category. Processing continues at block 410, where it isdetermined whether all of the meal categories have been completed. Ifthey have not been completed, then processing continues at block 404.

In an embodiment, a shopper enters a menu plan that includes: chickencooked on a grill on Monday; a vegetarian meal on Tuesday; and a pastameal with hamburger on Wednesday. When the shopper is walking around thefarmer's market, the shopper may have fresh dill in his or her basket,and be passing by fresh lemons. The shopping application 104 can requestrecipes that include dill and lemons; as well as one of chicken cookedon a grill; a vegetarian meal; and a pasta meal with hamburger from therecipe application 116. The shopper can be presented with a list ofrecipes including a dill and lemon marinade sauce for grilled chicken,as well as a vegetarian casserole with dill and lemon. The shopper canselect the recipe for the dill and lemon marinade sauce for grilledchicken. The shopping application 104 can then track the requiredingredients for the recipe as described in reference to FIG. 3. Inaddition, the shopping application will no longer present recipes forchicken cooked on a grill to the shopper during this shopping trip sincethat category has been complete. Instead, at block 404, the shoppingapplication 104 can request recipes that include a vegetarian meal or apasta meal with hamburger from the recipe application 116. In thismanner, a shopper can fill out an outline of a menu plan and make finaldecisions based on what food items are available.

In an embodiment, food items required by selected recipes that are notin the shopper's cart or the shopper's home can be presented, or output,to the shopper via a display on the mobile device 102 or to a printer.In embodiments, the remaining items can be sent automatically to agrocery ordering service for delivery to the shopper.

Embodiments can be implemented with any technology that allows for afood item to be recognized by an application executing on a mobiledevice. For example, in embodiments, image recognition, barcodes and/orquick response (QR) code scanners can be used in place of or along withRFID for identifying food items.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a block diagram of a computing device forimplementing some or all aspects of the system is generally shown inaccordance with an embodiment. FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of acomputing device 500 for use in implementing a system or methodaccording to some embodiments. The systems and methods described hereinmay be implemented in hardware, software (e.g., firmware), or acombination thereof. In some embodiments, the methods described may beimplemented, at least in part, in hardware and may be part of themicroprocessor of a special or general-purpose computing device 500,such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), tabletcomputer, personal computer, workstation, minicomputer, or mainframecomputer for example.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5, the computing device 500includes a processor 505, memory 510 coupled to a memory controller 515,and one or more input devices 545, and output devices 540, which arecommunicatively coupled via a local I/O controller 535. These devices540, 545 may include, for example, a printer, a scanner, a microphone,and the like. Input devices such as a conventional keyboard 550 andmouse 555 may be coupled to the I/O controller 535. The I/O controller535 may be, for example, one or more buses or other wired or wirelessconnections, as are known in the art. The I/O controller 535 may haveadditional elements, which are omitted for simplicity, such ascontrollers, buffers (caches), drivers, repeaters, and receivers, toenable communications.

The I/O devices 540, 545 may further include devices that communicateboth inputs and outputs, for instance disk and tape storage, an RFID tag110, a network interface card (NIC) or modulator/demodulator (foraccessing other files, devices, systems, or a network), a radiofrequency (RF) or other transceiver, a telephonic interface, a bridge, arouter, and the like.

The processor 505 is a hardware device for executing hardwareinstructions or software, particularly those stored in memory 510. Theprocessor 505 may be a custom made or commercially available processor,a central processing unit (CPU), an auxiliary processor among severalprocessors associated with the computing device 500, a semiconductorbased microprocessor (in the form of a microchip or chip set), amacroprocessor, or other device for executing instructions. Theprocessor 505 includes a cache 570, which may include, but is notlimited to, an instruction cache to speed up executable instructionfetch, a data cache to speed up data fetch and store, and a translationlookaside buffer (TLB) used to speed up virtual-to-physical addresstranslation for both executable instructions and data. The cache 570 maybe organized as a hierarchy of more cache levels (L1, L2, etc.).

The memory 510 may include one or combinations of volatile memoryelements (e.g., random access memory, RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM,etc.) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, erasable programmableread only memory (EPROM), electronically erasable programmable read onlymemory (EEPROM), programmable read only memory (PROM), tape, compactdisc read only memory (CD-ROM), disk, diskette, cartridge, cassette orthe like, etc.). Moreover, the memory 510 may incorporate electronic,magnetic, optical, or other types of storage media. Note that the memory510 may have a distributed architecture, where various components aresituated remote from one another but may be accessed by the processor505.

The instructions in memory 510 may include one or more separateprograms, each of which comprises an ordered listing of executableinstructions for implementing logical functions. In the example of FIG.5, the instructions in the memory 510 include a suitable operatingsystem (OS) 511. The operating system 511 essentially may control theexecution of other computer programs and provides scheduling,input-output control, file and data management, memory management, andcommunication control and related services. The instructions in thememory also include instructions for implementing embodiments of theshopping application 104 described herein.

Additional data, including, for example, instructions for the processor505 or other retrievable information, may be stored in storage 520,which may be a storage device such as a hard disk drive or solid statedrive. The stored instructions in memory 510 or in storage 520 mayinclude those enabling the processor to execute one or more aspects ofthe systems and methods of this disclosure.

The computing device 500 may further include a display controller 525coupled to a display 530. In some embodiments, the computing device 500may further include a network interface 560 for coupling to a network565. The network 565 may be an IP-based network for communicationbetween the computing device 500 and an external server, client and thelike via a broadband connection. The network 565 transmits and receivesdata between the computing device 500 and external systems. In someembodiments, the network 565 may be a managed IP network administered bya service provider. The network 565 may be implemented in a wirelessfashion, e.g., using wireless protocols and technologies, such as WiFi,WiMax, etc. The network 565 may also be a packet-switched network suchas a local area network, wide area network, metropolitan area network,the Internet, or other similar type of network environment. The network565 may be a fixed wireless network, a wireless local area network(LAN), a wireless wide area network (WAN) a personal area network (PAN),a virtual private network (VPN), intranet or other suitable networksystem and may include equipment for receiving and transmitting signals.

Systems and methods according to this disclosure may be embodied, inwhole or in part, in computer program products or in computing device500, such as that illustrated in FIG. 5.

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

-   -   On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally        provision computing capabilities, such as server time and        network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human        interaction with the service's provider.    -   Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network        and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by        heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile        phones, laptops, and PDAs).    -   Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled        to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with        different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned        and reassigned according to demand. There is a sense of location        independence in that the consumer generally has no control or        knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but        may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction        (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).    -   Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elastically        provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out        and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the        capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be        unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time.    -   Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and        optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at        some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service        (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user        accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and        reported providing transparency for both the provider and        consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

-   -   Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the        consumer is to use the provider's applications running on a        cloud infrastructure. The applications are accessible from        various client devices through a thin client interface such as a        web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail). The consumer does not        manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including        network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual        application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited        user-specific application configuration settings.    -   Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the        consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure        consumer-created or acquired applications created using        programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The        consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud        infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems,        or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and        possibly application hosting environment configurations.    -   Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to        the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and        other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able        to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include        operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage        or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control        over operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and        possibly limited control of select networking components (e.g.,        host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

-   -   Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for        an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a        third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises.    -   Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by several        organizations and supports a specific community that has shared        concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and        compliance considerations). It may be managed by the        organizations or a third party and may exist on-premises or        off-premises.    -   Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the        general public or a large industry group and is owned by an        organization selling cloud services.    -   Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two        or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain        unique entities but are bound together by standardized or        proprietary technology that enables data and application        portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between        clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 6, illustrative cloud computing environment 350 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 350 comprises one ormore cloud computing nodes 352 with which local computing devices usedby cloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant(PDA) or cellular telephone 354A, desktop computer 354B, laptop computer354C, and/or automobile computer system 354N may communicate. Nodes 352may communicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown)physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private,Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or acombination thereof. This allows cloud computing environment 350 tooffer infrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which acloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 354A-Nshown in FIG. 6 are intended to be illustrative only and that computingnodes 352 and cloud computing environment 350 can communicate with anytype of computerized device over any type of network and/or networkaddressable connection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 7, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 350 (FIG. 6) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 7 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 360 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 361;RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 362;servers 363; blade servers 364; storage devices 365; and networks andnetworking components 366. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 367 and database software368.

Virtualization layer 370 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers371; virtual storage 372; virtual networks 373, including virtualprivate networks; virtual applications and operating systems 374; andvirtual clients 375.

In one example, management layer 380 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 381 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 382provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 383 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 384provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 385 provides pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 390 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 391; software development and lifecycle management 392;virtual classroom education delivery 393; data analytics processing 394;transaction processing 395; and an image processing and object locationprocessing 396.

Technical effects and benefits include the ability to provide real-timerecipe suggestions to a shopper which takes into account food items thatare available to the shopper in a current location (e.g., farmer'smarket or grocery store) and previously selected food items that arealready in the shopper's cart. In addition, embodiments can factor inshopper food preferences and food items that the shopper already has onhand when making recipe suggestions. This can result in optimizing theutility of grocery shopping by providing guidance in selecting itemsthat can be used together to make meals.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising a mobile device of ashopper, the mobile device comprising: a memory having computer readableinstructions; and a processor for executing the computer readableinstructions, the computer readable instructions including: receiving,at a shopping application executing on the mobile device, a menu planthat includes categories of meals not completed, the menu plan enteredby the shopper via a user interface of the shopping application;receiving, at the shopping application executing on the mobile device ofthe shopper, an identifier of an available food item that is offered forpurchase at a food marketplace, wherein: the mobile device is utilizedby a shopper at the food marketplace; and the receiving of theidentifier at the shopping application is in response to the mobiledevice being proximate to the available food item; sending a request, bythe shopping application executing on the mobile device to a recipeapplication, for recipes that fit at least one of the categories ofmeals not completed to a recipe application, the request specifying: theidentifier of the available food item and a list of identifiers of fooditems previously selected by the shopper for purchase, and a list ofadditional ingredients that the shopper does not need to purchase thatare not included in the list of identifiers of food items previouslyselected by the shopper for purchase; receiving, at the shoppingapplication executing on the mobile device, a plurality of recipes thatfit a category in the categories of meals not completed, the pluralityof recipes selected by the recipe application based on the request, eachof the plurality of recipes incorporating multiple food items, includingthe available food item and at least a subset of the food itemspreviously selected by the shopper for purchase; ranking the pluralityof recipes based on a percentage of the food items previously selectedby the shopper for purchase that are included in each of the pluralityof recipes; presenting, via the user interface of the mobile device, theplurality of recipes to the shopper, the presenting in an order that isbased on the ranking; receiving, at the shopping application executingon the mobile device, an indication that the shopper has selected arecipe from the plurality of recipes; marking the category as completedin response to the indication that the shopper has selected the recipe;determining whether the shopper has selected the available food item forpurchase, wherein the food item is determined to be selected by theshopper for purchase based at least in part on a distance between thefood item and the shopper remaining within a threshold distance overtime as the shopper moves around the marketplace; based on determiningthat the shopper has selected the available food item for purchase,adding the identifier of the available food item to the list ofidentifiers of food items previously selected by the shopper forpurchase; and repeating the receiving an identifier of an available fooditem, sending a request, receiving a plurality of recipes, presentingthe plurality of recipes, receiving an indication that the shopper hasselected the recipe, and marking the category as completed.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the request further specifies foodpreferences of the shopper for the recipe application to take intoaccount when selecting the at least one recipe.
 3. The system of claim1, wherein the available food item is tagged by a radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) tag, and the identifier of the available food itemis received from the RFID tag by a RFID reader located on the mobiledevice when the available food item is proximate to the mobile device.4. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer readable instructionsfurther include: determining additional ingredients included in theselected recipe that are not in the list of food items previouslyselected by the shopper; and presenting a list of the additionalingredients to the shopper.
 5. A computer program product comprising anon-transitory computer readable storage medium having programinstructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable bya processor located on a mobile device of a shopper to cause thecomputer processor to perform: receiving, at a shopping applicationexecuting on the mobile device, a menu plan that includes categories ofmeals not completed, the menu plan entered by the shopper via a userinterface of the shopping application; receiving, at the shoppingapplication executing on the mobile device of the shopper, an identifierof an available food item that is offered for purchase at a foodmarketplace, wherein: the mobile device is utilized by a shopper at thefood marketplace; and the receiving of the identifier at the shoppingapplication is in response to the mobile device being proximate to theavailable food item; sending a request, by the shopping applicationexecuting on the mobile device to a recipe application, for recipes thatfit at least one of the categories of meals not completed to a recipeapplication, the request specifying: the identifier of the availablefood item and a list of food items previously selected by the shopperfor purchase, and a list of additional ingredients that the shopper doesnot need to purchase that are not included in the list of identifiers offood items previously selected by the shopper for purchase; receiving,at the shopping application executing on the mobile device, a pluralityof recipes that fit a category in the categories of meals not completed,the plurality of recipes selected by the recipe application based on therequest, each of the recipes incorporating multiple food items,including the available food item and at least a subset of the list offood items previously selected by the shopper for purchase; ranking theplurality of recipes based on a percentage of the food items previouslyselected by the shopper for purchase that are included in each of theplurality of recipes; presenting, via the user interface of the mobiledevice, the plurality of recipes to the shopper, the presenting in anorder that is based on the ranking; receiving, at the shoppingapplication executing on the mobile device, an indication that theshopper has selected a recipe from the plurality of recipes; marking thecategory as completed in response to the indication that the shopper hasselected the recipe; determining whether the shopper has selected theavailable food item for purchase, wherein the food item is determined tobe selected by the shopper for purchase based at least in part on adistance between the food item and the shopper remaining within athreshold distance over time as the shopper moves around themarketplace; based on determining that the shopper has selected theavailable food item for purchase, adding the identifier of the availablefood item to the list of food items previously selected by the shopperfor purchase; and repeating the receiving an identifier of an availablefood item, sending a request, receiving a plurality of recipes,presenting the plurality of recipes, receiving an indication that theshopper has selected the recipe, and marking the category as completed.6. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the request furtherspecifies food preferences of the shopper for the recipe application totake into account when selecting the at least one recipe.
 7. Thecomputer program product of claim 5, wherein the available food item istagged by a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag, and theidentifier of the available food item is received from the RFID tag by aRFID reader located on the mobile device when the available food item isproximate to the mobile device.
 8. The computer program product of claim5, wherein the program instructions executable by the processor furthercause the computer processor to perform: determining additionalingredients included in the selected recipe that are not in the list offood items previously selected by the shopper; and presenting a list ofthe additional ingredients to the shopper.